186 B O O K - K 
quantities, if any, in the proper columns. When either 
tide of an account is full, both Tides fliould be transferred, 
and diagonal lines drawn, to fill up the vacant fpace of the 
tide which requires it. 
The entries fliould be fo managed that the journal may 
keep pace nearly with the wafte-book, and the leger with 
the journal. Each book fliould be carefully revifed, and 
compared with the book from which it is polled. In com¬ 
paring the leger, obferve the following directions: Be¬ 
gin with the firft journal poll, and turn to the folio of 
the leger where the Dr. is entered, which you are di¬ 
rected to by the marginal reference, and compare the 
date, entry, and Aim. If you find them to correfpond, it 
is well ; if not, the leger mutt be altered till it correfponds 
with the journal. Then place a dot before the reference- 
figure in the journal, and a mark f before the Turn in 
the leger. Proceed in the fame manner to compare the 
Cr. ol the journal-poft, and all the following ports in their 
order. The dots in the journal fhow how far the com- 
parifon is advanced, and the marks in the leger fhow 
what articles are compared. The turns of accounts tranf- 
ferred fliould be left blank till the books are compared ; 
as an error in any article will occafioti an alteration in the 
fum. 
Errors which are difcovered before the Aims of ac¬ 
counts are cart; up, may be corrected by drawing aline 
lightly through them, fo that the original writing may 
Hill be legible, by which it will be evident that the books 
have not been vitiated for any fraudulent purpofe. Or, if 
too fmall a Aim be entered, a fecond entry may be made 
for the deficiency. If an article be omitted, it muft not 
be interlined, but polled as foon as difcovered under the 
la ft article, and a mark made againft it in the margin, and 
alfo where it ought to have been inferted. If an error be 
difcovered immediately on committing it, it mud be rec¬ 
tified thus: To Wine, Jay, To Cajh on account. But as it 
fometinies happens that errors remain undifcovered till 
after the accounts have been cart: up, the following me¬ 
thod nuift be attended to: iff. If too fmall a Aim has 
been entered, a fecond entry may be made as before for 
the deficiency. 2d. If too large a Aim has been entered, 
an entry mult be made on the oppofite fide for the excefs. 
And, as nothing whatever is written into the leger but 
what lias been alfo entered in the journal, an entry muft be 
made in the following manner. Suppofe the account of 
John Jones had been credited for 210I. cafti paid by him, 
and the original journal entry had been only 110I. the 
corre&ing entry will be 
John Jones Dr. to John Jones. 
For cafti placed to his credit too much the 10th Sept. iool. 
On porting the above to the account of John Jones, it is 
to be obferved that he has already had credit for this fum 
in the 2tol. on the 10th September, and therefore that the 
Dr. is only to be ported now. This rectifies his account; 
and tlie Aim which had been placed to his credit, more 
than had been entered in the journal, now hands on both 
tides of the account; and an entry appears on the journal 
for the amount. 3d. If an article be entered on the wrong 
Ade of the account, an entry fimilar to the above muft: be 
made to reverfe it. Suppofe an article had been ported 
to the Cr. of John Jones, which ought to have been ported 
to the Dr. fide, the journal entry would be, 
John Jones Dr. to John Jones. 
For cafh placed to his Cr. 10th September, inrtead 
of to his Dr. ----- iool. 
in this cafe it is neceflary firrt to port the original entry 
to its proper fide, and then to obferve, with refpeCt to 
the prefent, that one fide, namely the Cr. has already been 
ported ; it remains therefore only to port the Dr. fide. 
Thus is the account rectified, and an entry made for the 
error in the journal. But if an article be ported to a 
wrong account, an entry muft be made charging the one 
account Dr. to the other, as the cafe may require. 
x 
E E P I N G. 
When the comparifon of the books is finirtied, glance 
over the leger, Vo obferve if the mark of comparifon is 
affixed to every article. If not, you muft turn to the jour¬ 
nal, and obferve if the articles are right which had not 
been marked. 
Since the whole fum of the Dr. fide of the leger fliould 
be equal to the whole fum of the Cr. it is proper to try if 
they correfpond. For this purpofe, you may add the Dr. 
of every account, whether already balanced or not, pla¬ 
cing the funis in an inner column, and extending them 
at the end of one or more folios, as you find molt conve¬ 
nient, to the outer column : and, as you go along, add the 
Cr. in the fame manner. If the Aims total of both fides 
are equal, it gives a prefumption that the books are right; 
it they differ, there is certainly fome miftake. This is 
called the Trial-balance. And as the total amount of the 
journal is equal to that of either of the fides of the leger, 
it follows that if either of the (ides agrees therewith, the 
error, if there be one, muft be on the other. Or if nei¬ 
ther of the Aides agree with the amount of the journal, the 
difference between each of them, and the journal, will (hew 
how much of the error lies on either fide; the knowledge 
of which frequently tends to Ihorten the labour of re-exa¬ 
mining the books, as it may be necelfary only to examine 
the polling of one fide of the leger. In all complex entries 
the cartings in the journal mull: be re-examined, and the 
amounts ot each fide compared, to fee that they agree. If 
the errors are not difcovered on the firft revifal, you muft 
repeat the fame operation again, till you bring the books 
to balance. Marks different from the former ones, or 
differently placed, may be ufed, to lignify that an article 
has been examined a fecond or third time. 
When we fettle accounts with any perfon, and afcertain 
how much is owing at either hand, it is necelfary to balance 
his account in the leger, and open a new one, beginning 
with the fum that was due according to the fettlement ; 
and, when we clear accounts again, we muft go back to 
that article, and no farther. If any articles are charged 
on either fide, at the time of fettling, they muft be imme¬ 
diately entered on the wafte-book ; from which they will 
pals in courfe to the journal and leger ; and an entry 
muft be made in the wafte-book, that the account was 
iettled, and the balance transferred to the proper fide of 
the new account. This entry is tranfcribed in the jour¬ 
nal ; and the leger account is balanced, when it occurs, iu 
the courfe of polling. > 
If the balance is due to you, write on the Cr. By new 
account for balance due by him, and inlert the fum due to 
you ; after which the amount of both (ides will be equal. 
Add the amount, placing the Aims oppofite to each other; 
and, if the lides are unequal, draw a diagonal line through 
the vacant fpace of the iliorter fide, and clofe the old ac¬ 
count by drawing lines under the inner columns only, leav¬ 
ing the Anns of the money columns to be cart with the 
articles which may follow in the new account. Then 
open the new account immediately under the old one, or 
in a new folio if the old one is full, by writing on the Dr. 
To old account for balance due by him. And then, if 
the balance is due by you to him, the entries are made 
on the oppofite fides, with the neceflary alterations. When 
the new account is opened in the fame folio, it is unnecef- 
fary to repeat the title; but the year and month, as well 
as the day, are repeated at the date of the firft article. 
Sometimes when an account is balanced, one or more 
articles are left out on purpofe : For example, goods lately 
bought on credit may be left out, and the fettlement may 
only relate to articles of longer Handing. When this is 
the cafe, if the articles omitted are on the Dr. of the leger, 
we write on the Cr. thus, By new account Jor articles placed 
to his Dr. Jince if July: and when we have balanced the 
account, and opened a new one, we write on the Dr. To 
old account, for articles placed to his Dr.fnce if July ; or, if 
the articles were left out for any other reafon, it is to be 
explained in the narration. If the articles omitted are,on 
the Cr. fide, the entries are of courfe reverfed. Thefe 
transfers. 
